Cam lock vise

ABSTRACT

A quick acting cam lock vise for use with drill presses and the like comprises fixed and movable jaws mounted on an elongate mounting bar. A spring urged over center toggle linkage is connected with a movable jaw and is operable to cam the jaw into gripping relation with the work piece, and is also operable to releasably lock the movable jaw with respect to the mounting bar. The toggle linkage includes a lock actuating member operatively connected with a pair of concavo-convex locking elements which grip the mounting bar when the toggle linkage is in the locking position.

O United States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,815,894 Olson June 11, 1974 [54] CAM LOCK VISE 3,545,316 12/1970 Patrick 81/368 1nventor: John L. Olson, 1300 Birc S 1 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Nmth Branch 55056 631,301 10/1949 Great Britain 269/228 22 i 1 1972 645,326 9/1922 Italy 269/166 [21] Appl' 226670 Primary Examiner-A1 Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-.1. T. Zatarga [52] U.S. Cl 269/167, 81/363, 269/201, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Williamson, Bains & Moore 269/228 [51] Int. Cl B251) 1/02 [58] Field of Search 269/201, 228, 166-1715; [57] ABSTRACT 81/363, 367-330 A quick acting cam lock vise for use with drill presses and the like comprises fixed and movable jaws [56] Refer n Cit d mounted on an elongate mounting bar. A spring urged UNITED STATES PATENTS over center toggle linkage is connected with a movable jaw and is operable to cam the jaw into gripping sg l i relation with the work piece, and is also operable to 1 159279 11/1915 schaefer ixxiixii: "II" 269/116 releasably lock the movable law with respect the l:739:488 12/1929 Thayer 269/166 x mounting The toggle linkage includes a 106k 2,379,107 6/1945 Scheck 269/228 x aling member Operatively Connected with 11 P Of 2,528,909 11/1950 Plumb 269/201 concavo-convex locking elements which grip the 2,588,745 3/1952 McKenzie 269/167 X mounting bar when the toggle linkage is in the locking 2,630,035 3/1953 Zazdrzyk 81/363 x position 2,940,345 6/1960 Farina 81/380 3,208,319 9/1965 Westby et a1. 1 .1 81/374 X 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JUN l 1 I974 sum 1 or 2 CAM LOCK VISE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this-invention is to provide a quick acting cam lock vise which is highly effective for use with drill presses or the like wherein the movable jaw of the vise may be readily gripped into and out of gripping relation of the work upon manipulation of the cam lock toggle linkage.

In this regard, the cam lock toggle linkage is connected with a movable jaw and includes lock elements which may be shifted into gripping relation with the mounting bar when the linkage is in the locking position, and these locking elements are releasable from the bar when the toggle linkage is shifted to an unlocked position. This locking system comprises a cam actuated type friction lock which is not only quick to operate but is also positive in gripping the mounting bar when in the locked condition. Thus the toggle linkage is not only effective in camming the movable jaw into and out of work-gripping position, but is also provided with positive lock means for locking the movable jaw in a work-gripping position. These and other objects of this invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel vise;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the vise;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 33 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 44 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting clamp.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. 1, it will be seen that one embodiment of the novel cam lock vise, designatedgenerally by the reference numeral is there shown. This cam lock vise includes an elongate mounting bar 11 which is of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration and which is secured to the table T of a drill press by means ofa mounting clamp 12.

This mounting clamp 12 as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 includes an upper clamp member 13 and a lower clamp member 14, each having a similar generally rectangular shaped recess 15 therein. Each of the clamping members also has an opening 16 therein and the table T has a threaded recess 17 therein. A threaded clamping screw projects through the openings 16 in the clamping members and threadedly engages in the threaded openings 17 in the table T. This clamping screw 18 has an enlarged head 19 which is provided with a handle 20 to facilitate rotation of the clamping screw. The mounting bar 11 is received within the recesses 15 of the clamping member so that when the clamping screw 18 is rotated, to threadedly engage in the recess 17, the mounting bar 11 will be mounted in fixed relation with respect to the table T but spaced slightly above the upper surface thereof as best seen in FIG. 4.

The vise 10 includes a generally rectangular shaped fixed jaw 21 which has a recess 22 in the upper surface thereof for accommodating a generally rectangular shaped jaw element 23. The jaw element 23 is fixedly secured to the fixed jaw by suitable bolts or the like. The fixed jaw 21 has an opening 24 therethrough through which projects the mounting bar 11. The fixed jaw also has an opening in the lower surface thereof for accommodating a set screw 25 which engages the mounting bar 11 to fix the fixedjaw 21 in a selected adjusted position with respect to the mounting bar 11.

A movable jaw 26 is slidably mounted on the mounting bar 11 and this movable jaw also has a recess 27 in the upper surface thereof for accommodating a jaw element 28 therein. Although not shown, the jaw element 28 is secured to the movable jaw by suitable bolts or the like in the manner of a fixed jaw. The movable jaw also has an opening 29 therethrough through which projects the mounting bar 11.

The mounting bar 11 is normally horizontally oriented thereby orienting the fixed and movable jaws in vertical relation with respect to a table or other tool with which the vise is used. The rear vertical surface of the movable jaw has a recess 30 therein, and a generally U-shaped bracket 31 is positioned in the recess 30 and is secured to the movable jaw by means of countersunk mounting bolts 32. A pivot pin 33 extends between and is secured to the legs of the U-shaped bracket 31 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

An elongate handle 34 has its inner end bent or looped as at 35 to pivotally engage the pivot pin 33. With this arrangement, the handle is pivotally connected to the movable jaw for vertical swinging movement about a transverse horizontal axis. The handle 34 is provided with opposed generally parallel depending flanges 36 and a pivot pin 37 extends between these depending flanges 36 and is secured thereto. It will be noted that the pivot pin 37 is also located adjacent the inner end of the handle and is positioned adjacent to but spaced slightly from the looped end of the handle.

An elongate link 38 has opposite ends bent or looped as at 39 and one of these looped ends embraces the pivot pin 37 whereby the link 38 is swingably mounted thereon. The other end of the link 38 is pivotally connected to a U-shaped lock actuating member 40 as best seen in FIG. 3. This U-shaped lock actuating member 40 includes a pair of generally vertically oriented legs 41 which are connected at their respective lower ends by a transverse web portion 42. It will be noted that the web portion 42 is of generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration and has its concave side presented upwardly. A pivot pin 40a extends between and is secured to the upper ends of the legs 41 and the other looped end of the link 38 pivotally engages this pivot pin 40a.

The legs 41 which are positioned on opposite sides of the mounting bar 11, are each provided with an outwardly projecting wing 43 intermediate the ends thereof. These wings 43 are each provided with an opening 44 through which projects a bolt 45. These bolts have their inner end threaded for threaded engagement in threaded openings in the movable jaw 26 and each bolt is provided with a head 46. A pair of helical springs 47 are each positioned over one of the bolts 45 each spring bearing against a wing 43 and each spring also bearing against a collar 48 positioned on the associated bolt. With this arrangement, it will be seen that the handle 34, the link 38, and the lock actuating member 40 constitutes a spring urged over center toggle linkage. This toggle linkage serves to cam the movable jaw into final gripping relation with the work and also serves to releasably lock the movable jaw in fixed relation with respect to the mounting bar when the work is gripped between the fixed and movable jaws.

To this end, it will be noted that the legs 41 of the lock actuating member are each provided with an opening therein intermediate the ends thereof andthese openings accommodate the ends of an upper locking element 50. A lower locking element 51 is positioned within and supported by the concave web portion 42 as best seen in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the lock elements 50 and 51 are of concavo-convex configuration and are positioned against the upper and lower surfaces respectively of the mounting bar 11. It will also be noted that the upper locking element 50 has its concave side presented downwardly while the lower locking element 51 has its concave side presented upwardly. It is further pointed out that the ends of the lower locking element also project through openings 52 in the legs 41. The locking elements 50 and 51 grip the mounting bar 11 when the toggle linkage is shifted to the locked position and are shifted out of gripping rlation when the toggle linkage is in the unlocked condition. These locking elements are illustrated in the locked condition in the full line configuration of FIG. 3.

In operation, the toggle linkage will be in the unlocked condition as illustrated by dotted line configuration in FIG. 3. ln this condition, the locking elements 50 and 51 do not grip the bar 11 and permit the movable jaw to be slid longitudinally of the bar 11. Thus the movable jaw will be moved into engaging relation with the work, the work being gripped by the movable and fixed jaw in a well-known manner.

Thereafter, the handle 34 will be urged downwardly at its outer end to pivot vertically about the pivot pin 33. When this occurs, the pivot 37 which is a movable pivot will be shifted from the position illustrated by dotted line configuration in FIG. 3 to the'position illustrated by the full line configuration of FIG. 3. When this occurs, movement ofthe link 38 will cause the lock actuating member to swing slightly in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 from the position illustrated by the dotted line configuration to the full line configuration. This movement of the link 38 will cause the lock actuating member to pivot about its pivot 40a from the position illustrated by dotted line configuration to the position illustrated by the full line configuration. It is pointed out that the pivots 33, 37 and 40a are disposed out of alignment with respect to each other when in the locked or unlocked condition, but that the movable pivots do move through a position of alignment or cener relationship during shifting movement of the toggle linkage between the locked and unlocked condition. With this arrangement, the springs 47 resist movement of the toggle linkage from either the locked or unlocked condition until the center or aligned relation of the pivot points is achieved. Thereafter, the springs assist in the movement of the toggle linkage to either the final locked or unlocked condition. This is the over center arrangement.

The motion produced by the toggle linkage is transmitted to the movable jaw to cam the movable jaw into further tightened relation against the work and this movement of the toggle linkage also shifts the locking elements into locked relation with respect to the mounting bar 11. In this regard, the leading edge of the upper locking element 50 firmly grips the upper surface of the bar 11 while the trailing edge of the lower locking element 51 also firmly grips the lower surface of the mounting bar 11. The movable jaw is then held in this position by the locking elements so that the work is very firmly and effectively gripped between the movable and fixed jaws. When it is desirable ,to release the work, the handle 34 is gripped at its outer end and is raised or swung about its pivot '33 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. The pivot pin 37 is then shifted from the position illustrated by full line configuration to the position illustrated by dotted line configuration in FIG. 3. The lock actuating member 40 is also shifted from its position-illustrated by full line configuration to the position illustrated by dotted line configuration. The leading edgeof the upper lock ing element 50 is released from gripping relation with the mounting bar as is the trailing edge of the lower locking element 51. The pivots 37 and 40a will be moved through their over center relation during this shifting movement and will receive assistance from the coil springs 47 in the final phase of this movement. When the locking elements are disengaged from gripping relation with respect to the mounting bar, the movable jaw may be slid along the mounting bar.

It is pointed out that in some instances, it may not be desirable to use the clamp 12 to secure the mounting bar to the table of the drill press or other tool, and the clamping vise may be merely positioned upon the surface of the table.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a novel cam lock vise having a cam type toggle linkage which not only shifts the movable jaw of the vise into final gripping relation with the work but also provides a'quick operating lock to hold the movable jaw in its gripping relation with the work. Thus it will be seen that I have provided a novel cam lockvise, which is not only of simple and inexpensive construction, but one which functions in a more efficient manner than any heretofore known comparable vise.

What is claimed is:

l. A quick acting cam lock vise comprising,

an elongate substantially straight horizontally oriented mounting bar,

a vertically oriented fixed jaw having an opening therein through which the bar projects, releasable means releasably locking said jaw on said bar, and

permitting adjustment of said fixed longitudinal jaw along said bar,

.a vertially oriented movable jaw having an opening therein through which said mounting bar projects to slidably mount said movable jaw on said bar,

an elongate handle having one end thereof pivotally connected with said movable jaw,

an elongate link having oen end pivotally connected with said handle adjacent said one end of the latter,

a lock actuating member pivotally connected with the other end of said link and defining with said link and said handle an over center toggle linkage shiftable through an over center condition between locked and released positions,

spring means engaging said lock actuating member assisting movement of the over center toggle linkage from an over center condition to locked or released positions,

a pair of locking elements operatively connected with said lock actuating member and being shiftable into gripping relation with said mounting bar when the toggle linkage is shifted to the locked position to lock the movable jaw with respect to a work piece gripped by the movable and fixed jaws, and said locking elements being shiftable out of gripping relation with said bar when said toggle linkage is shifted to a release position, thereby allowing the movable jaw to slide along said bar.

2. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking elements are supported on said lock actuating member.

3. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said lock actuating member is of U-shaped configuration.

4. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said lock actuating member is generally vertically oriented and is pivotally connected at its upper end with said link.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein said lock actuating member is provided with a pair of outwardly projecting wing elements, said spring means comprising a pair of springs each engaging one of said wing elements.

6. The vise as defined in claim 2 wherein said locking elements are disposed on opposite sides of said mounting bar. 

1. A quick acting cam lock vise comprising, an elongate substantially straight horizontally oriented mounting bar, a vertically oriented fixed jaw having an opening therein through which the bar projects, releasable means releasably locking said jaw on said bar, and permitting adjustment of said fixed longitudinal jaw along said bar, a vertially oriented movable jaw having an opening therein through which said mounting bar projects to slidably mount said movable jaw on said bar, an elongate handle having one end thereof pivotally connected with said movable jaw, an elongate link having oen end pivotally connected with said handle adjacent said one end of the latter, a lock actuating member pivotally connected with the other end of said link and defining with said link and said handle an over center toggle linkage shiftable through an over center condition between locked and released positions, spring means engaging said lock actuating member assisting movement of the over center toggle linkage from an over center condition to locked or released positions, a pair of locking elements operatively connected with said lock actuating member and being shiftable into gripping relation with said mounting bar when the toggle linkage is shifted to the locked position to lock the movable jaw with respect to a work piece gripped by the movable and fixed jaws, and said locking elements being shiftable out of gripping relation with said bar when said toggle linkage is shifted to a release position, thereby allowing the movable jaw to slide along said bar.
 2. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking elements are supported on said lock actuating member.
 3. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said lock actuating member is of U-shaped configuration.
 4. The vise as defined in claim 1 wherein said lock actuating member is generally vertically oriented and is pivotally connected at its upper end with said link.
 5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein said lock actuating member is provided with a pair of outwardly projectinG wing elements, said spring means comprising a pair of springs each engaging one of said wing elements.
 6. The vise as defined in claim 2 wherein said locking elements are disposed on opposite sides of said mounting bar. 